Chapter 7
TESSA
I'm halfway home when I see the headlights in my rearview mirror.
They're too close, too aggressive, and my heart kicks against my ribs. Because I know, I just know, it's him.
My hands grip the steering wheel tighter as I turn onto my street, and the headlights follow. Of course they do.
I pull into my apartment complex and he pulls in right behind me, blocking me in. For a moment, I just sit there, engine running, staring at the dashboard like it might offer me some kind of answer. But there isn't one. There's just him, and me, and whatever’s hanging between us.
I close my eyes, exhale a shaky breath, and kill the engine. Fine. He’ll tell me again why this can’t happen. And I’ll pretend again that he’s just a rebound. It’s a lie, but at this point, it’s survival. I’m not ready to have my heart broken all over again. Especially not by him.
My professor.
Lachlan.
I climb out of the car and he’s already there, standing by his truck with his hands in his pockets. His eyes lock on me with an intensity that makes my stomach flip.
"Tessa."
"Not here," I say, glancing around the parking lot. The last thing I need is Mrs. Danvers from 3B watching me have a meltdown. "Inside."
He follows me in silence, and I'm hyperaware of him behind me. When we reach my door, my hands are shaking so badly I can barely get the key in the lock.
"Let me," he says softly, and his hand closes over mine, steadying it. The touch sends electricity racing up my arm, and I jerk away.
"I've got it."
I manage to open the door and step inside, flipping on the lights. My apartment looks exactly how I left it this morning. Coffee mug on the table, textbooks spread across the couch. Normal. Safe. The exact opposite of how I feel right now.
Lachlan closes the door behind us and leans against it, arms crossed.
“You ran,” he says, finally.
I shrug, heading toward the kitchen just to give myself space. “So what? It was just sex. That’s all this has ever been, right?”
“You don’t believe that.”
I grab a glass, pretending I’m suddenly very interested in water. “Why shouldn’t I? You’ve made it clear over and over again that this can’t happen.”
“Pretending it means nothing doesn’t make it true.”
I whirl around to face him. “You keep shutting it down. You’ve told me more times than I can count that this isn't allowed. So why do my feelings suddenly matter now?”
His eyes darken. “Because they do. Because they always have. I need to know how you feel, even if I can’t do anything about it.”
My heart stutters. "What do you want me to say, Lachlan? That I'm falling for my professor who I met at a sex club? That this is completely insane and probably going to blow up in both our faces?"
"Yes," he says. "Say all of that. Say anything real, because I'm fucking terrified too, but I'm not running from it."
My throat tightens. "You've been running since the moment we met. You pushed me away every single time."
"I was trying to protect you."
"From what? I don't need protection. I need honesty."
He takes a step closer, and I can see the conflict carved into every line of his face. “You want honesty? Fine. I haven’t felt anything in years.”
He pauses, jaw working like the words cost him.
“I saw things no one should see. Things I still see every time I close my eyes. I did my job. Took down monsters. But it hollowed me out. I shut everything down so I didn’t have to feel it.
After I left law enforcement, I started going to the club.
Not to hook up. Not to play games. Just to watch and protect.
I kept my distance. Never crossed a line.
It was the only place I could control something.
.. keep people safe without getting pulled in.
Then I met you. And I don’t know what it was.
I can’t explain it. But something about you felt different.
You looked at me like I wasn’t a ghost. Like I was someone. ”
Air stalls in my lungs. It’s the first time he’s really letting me see behind the mask.
"And then you show up in my class," he continues, "and I realized that anonymous woman I couldn't stop thinking about was my student.
My fucking student. Do you know how that felt?
Like the universe was punishing me. Because of course the first person I've wanted in years would be completely off-limits. "
I'm frozen, my heart pounding.
“That’s why I should’ve stayed away. But I couldn’t. Every time I saw you, I wanted you more. And tonight… you said it didn’t mean anything. That I was just a rebound. I can’t accept that. Because I know it’s not true.”
I force down the lump in my throat, but the words still won’t come.
“You can lie to yourself all you want, Tessa. But I need you to know how I feel. I want you. Not just your body, not just the sex. I want every part of you. I want to know what pisses you off, what makes you laugh, what you’re afraid of, and what keeps you up at night.
And yeah, it scares the hell out of me. Because I don’t know how to do this anymore.
But I’d rather be terrified than keep pretending we can’t do this. ”
Tears prick at my eyes. This is everything I wanted him to say, and maybe it’s all happening too fast. Maybe we’re moving at the speed of disaster. But I’ve never felt anything like this. Not even close.
Something this real, this electric… it’s crazy not to try.
A knock on the door makes us both jump.
I glance at Lachlan, confused. "I'm not expecting anyone."
The knock comes again, louder this time. A familiar voice calls out, "Tessa? I know you're in there. Your car's in the parking lot."
A chill rips through me.
My ex.
"Are you kidding me?" I mutter, and push past Lachlan to yank open the door.
Derek stands in the entry, and he looks terrible. His hair is messy, his eyes are bloodshot, and he reeks of whiskey. He's wearing the sweater I bought him last Christmas, which feels like a deliberate choice.
"Tessa," he says. "Baby, we need to talk."
"Don't call me that." I cross my arms, blocking the doorway. "What are you doing here, Derek?”
"I made a mistake." He takes a step closer, and I can smell the alcohol on his breath. "The biggest mistake of my life. Vanessa, she's not you. She'll never be you. I need you to know that."
"You dumped me for my friend," I say flatly. "By text. You don't get to show up drunk at my apartment and expect me to care about your regrets."
"I know, I know I fucked up." His eyes are pleading now. "But I love you. I never stopped loving you. Please, just… can we talk? Inside?"
"No."
"Tessa, please."
"She said no." Lachlan's voice comes from behind me.
Derek's eyes widen as he looks past me to where Lachlan must be standing.
"Who the fuck is that?" Derek demands.
"None of your business," I snap.
But Derek is already pushing forward, trying to see into my apartment. "Are you fucking kidding me? You have a guy in there? Already?"
"You were with Vanessa one day after you dumped me," I remind him. "You don't get to judge what I do."
Derek's face is turning red now, anger replacing the desperate sadness. "I made a mistake, but you… what, you're just throwing yourself at random guys now? Is that what this is?"
"Get out," I say, my voice shaking with rage. "Now."
"This is the guy you were with at the sex club, huh?" Derek’s voice slices through the room as he steps forward, phone raised like evidence.
My stomach twists. "Get out, Derek."
He ignores me. “I got a video.” He taps his screen and pulls it up. “You. Coming out of some back room, looking thoroughly fucked.”
My stomach drops as the footage begins to play. Grainy and shadowed, but clear enough. Me, walking out of the room. Lachlan, masked, watching me go.
“How did you even get this?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer right away. Just stares at the screen, watching the footage closely. His brows pull together. Then his eyes lift, but not to me.
He looks at Lachlan.
“This is you, in the mask? Isn’t it? Unbelievable."
"I said get out," I shout.
His eyes are glittering now with cruel triumph. “Did you fuck this guy in a sleazy club and bring him home? Do you have any idea what this looks like, Tess?”
My heart is racing so fast I think I might pass out. "It's none of your business what I do or where I go."
"So it is true. Christ, what's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me? You destroyed our relationship. So yeah, I went out. I did things I never would have done with you. And you know what? I don't regret a single second of it."
"This is because of me? You went there to get back at me?"
"I went there to forget you," I shoot back. "And it worked."
His face contorts with rage, and suddenly he's shouting. "You’ve got to be kidding me. You forgot about me for this fucking creep?"
"That's enough." Lachlan is moving now, stepping around me and into the hallway. He's a full head taller, and Derek takes an instinctive step back. "You need to leave. Now."
"This is real classy, Tessa."
Lachlan’s hand shoots out to grip Derek's shoulder and push him back against the opposite wall.
"You heard her," Lachlan says. "Time to leave."
"Get your fucking hands off me!" Derek shoves at him, but Lachlan doesn't budge. "I'm calling the cops. This is assault."
"Go ahead," Lachlan says. "And I'll tell them you showed up drunk at your ex-girlfriend's apartment and tried to force your way inside."
"I just wanted to talk to her!"
"She told you to leave. Multiple times." Lachlan's grip tightens. "So leave."
For a moment, they're locked in a staredown, and I'm frozen in my doorway, my whole body trembling. Then Derek's eyes narrow, and he looks between Lachlan and me.
"Is this what you want, Tessa? You want to throw away everything we had for this? That's who you are now?"
"Who I am now is someone who doesn't need you. So yes, Derek. This is what I want. Now get the hell out of my life."
Derek stares at me for a long moment, and I can see the exact second he realizes he's lost. His face crumples, then hardens.
"You'll regret this," he says quietly. "Both of you."
"Is that a threat?" Lachlan's voice drops even lower.
Derek shrugs out of Lachlan’s grip and storms off, his footsteps echoing down the stairwell.
Lachlan follows me inside without a word, quietly closing the door behind him.
I start pacing the living room, adrenaline still crashing through me. “He has a video. He knows. Someone had to be there, at the club that night. Someone who saw me, who recognized me. Who would’ve sent that to him?”
My mind spins, replaying every moment of that night like a broken reel.
Lachlan watches me. “One of his friends, maybe?”
“Maybe,” I whisper, rubbing a hand over my face. “Or someone who just wanted to stir shit. Someone who has it out for me.”
He steps closer and pulls me into his arms. I sink into his chest, but the panic doesn’t let up.
“What if he finds out you’re my professor? What if he tries to use it against you?”
Lachlan leans back just enough to look me in the eyes.
“Then we’ll deal with it,” he says. “Okay? Whatever comes, we’ll handle it.”
"Lachlan..." I start. “You say that now. But earlier tonight you were pushing me away. Saying we can’t do this. That it was a mistake."
“I know,” he says quickly. “I know, and I’m sorry. I thought I was protecting us. Protecting you. But then you walked away, said it meant nothing, said I was just a rebound, and...”
He exhales hard.
“That wrecked me. Because it’s not nothing. And yeah, maybe it’s not exactly mature to only realize it after the fact, but it’s the truth.”
He cups my face in his hands.
“But you don’t understand…” I start again.
"I understand perfectly. I understand that I spent five years hiding from life, from feeling anything real. And I understand that I met you, and everything changed. So if your ex wants to expose us, if the university wants to make this a problem, then fine. Let them. But I’m not losing you because I’m scared of the consequences.
No more running. No more pushing each other away. "
"I'm completely fucking terrified,” I admit.
“I think that's how you know it matters," he says.
He kisses me gently, his hand sliding along my jaw. We sink into the couch together, the worn leather creaking under our weight.
Lachlan undresses me slowly, taking time to drink me in. His fingers brush the curve of my shoulder, the dip of my waist, and I shiver from the way he touches me. Like I’m something precious, something to be opened carefully, not torn apart in a rush.
“You’re so beautiful,” he says, his thumbs brushing the sensitive skin just above my pussy.
I reach for him, my hands tugging at his shirt, needing to feel his skin against mine. He helps me, pulling the fabric over his head.
When he enters me this time, it’s slow and steady. His movements are careful, like he’s trying to weave himself into me. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, drawing him closer, my nails grazing his back as I pull him down until there’s no space left between us.
Neither of us speaks. It’s just the sound of our moans and the soft slap of skin. His hands roam my body, one sliding up to cup my breast, his thumb brushing my nipple until I gasp.
“I’m falling for you, Tessa.”
My heart stutters, the confession sinking into me. I touch his face, my thumb tracing the sharp edge of his cheekbone.
“Me too,” I whisper.
He stills for half a second, his forehead resting against mine.
Then he moves again, deeper this time, his thrusts slow but powerful.
His hand slides to the back of my head, his fingers tangling gently in my hair.
His thrusts build and I match him, my hips rising to meet his, my legs wrapping around his waist to pull him even closer.
He kisses me again, his tongue tracing the seam of my lips.
“You feel so good,” he groans against my mouth. “I don’t deserve you, but fuck, I want you more than I’ve wanted anything.”
“You have me,” I say.
He groans as his thrusts deepen, his hand sliding down to hitch my leg higher to change the angle. The shift makes me gasp.
“I’m not letting you go,” he says. “Not ever.”
I nod, my body trembling as the wave builds higher, threatening to crash. His hand moves between us, finding my clit, circling it with a gentleness that contrasts with the intensity of his thrusts.
“Come for me. I want to feel it.”
His words push me over the edge. A shuddering release rips through me, my body clenching around him as I gasp his name. He follows a moment later, his body trembling with the force of it.
He holds me after, his heartbeat steady against mine, his arms wrapped around me as we lie tangled on the couch.
“I meant it,” he says after a long moment. “I’m falling for you, Tessa.”
I meet his eyes, heart pounding. “I’m falling for you too.”
He leans in, kissing me like it’s the only thing he needs.